- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
Stocks end higher as attention turns to interest rates
Global stock markets glided to a generally positive finish on Wednesday as investors turned their attention to central bank monetary policy in the eurozone and Britain later this week.
Most of the major European indices still managed to end the session in positive territory, while Wall Street posted decent gains for the fourth straight session after rough weeks of trading in January.
In Europe, London's FTSE closed 0.6 percent higher and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.2 percent, but Frankfurt's DAX ended flat.
The Dow finished trading with a 0.6 percent gain, while the Nasdaq saw a similar increase and the S&P 500 performed more strongly, rising 0.9 percent.
Karl Haeling of LBBW attributed the gains to a feeling that the January market sell-off had gone overboard.
"The market was due for a rally," he said in an interview.
Also helping sentiment were recent indications from the Federal Reserve that while it is likely to hike interest rates in March to curb inflation, it won't deploy aggressive tactics, such as hiking twice as much as it usually does in a given meeting.
"I do think that less hawkish commentary from the Fed officials this week have certainly helped calm some concerns," Haeling said.
Oil prices rose after the OPEC+ oil producers group stuck to its guns and increased output only modestly despite the price of crude soaring to multi-year highs recently. But prices retreated by the close of New York trading.
"The news was hardly surprising, as the group has rigidly followed this approach since it was first agreed upon, even in December when oil prices plunged following the emergence of Omicron," said Edward Gardner, commodities expert at Capital Economics.
Attention now turns to the European Central Bank and the Bank of England as they hold their regular policy meetings on Thursday, events that will be closely watched by investors.
While the guardian of the euro is widely expected to hold borrowing costs unchanged, analysts are predicting the UK central bank will tighten policy for the second meeting in a row in a bid to rein in soaring inflation.
- Off the boil -
In Asia, investors appeared to be less worried about the Fed's plans to tighten monetary policy, while strong corporate results lifted optimism about the outlook.
And while there remains plenty of volatility and uncertainty on trading floors owing to geopolitical tensions and the Omicron spread, analysts remain upbeat for the year.
Some Asian markets were closed due to the Lunar New Year break, but those that opened -- Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila -- all gained more than one percent.
After a difficult January, world stock markets have enjoyed a strong start to February as investors hunt for bargains, according to analysts.
As well as the ECB and BoE meetings, traders are waiting for the publication of US jobs data Friday for the latest snapshot of the health of the world's biggest economy.
The dollar has come off the boil against its main rivals after recent strong gains on expectations of aggressive Fed interest rate hikes to combat soaring inflation.
- Key figures around 2120 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 35,629.33 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 4,589.38 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.5 percent at 14,417.55 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,583.00 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.04 percent at 15,613.77 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,115.27 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,222.05 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 27,533.60 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1304 from $1.1269 late Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3573 from $1.3519
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.33 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 114.42 yen from 114.67 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $89.47 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $88.26 per barrel
burs-spm/imm/cs/hs
F.Pedersen--AMWN